The Superfoods Myth

Great TweetLink from Health Habits:

@HealthHabits: Despite what “Celebrity Personal Trainer” Bob Harper says…Oatmeal is NOT a Super Food http://nblo.gs/esR1X

Quaker Oats and the male half of the The Biggest Loser trainer tandem, Bob Harper, are teaming up to tout the benefits of oatmeal.

It’s nice to know I have an ally in the superfoods myth of claiming that oatmeal is “heart healthy” and is about the best thing you can eat on the planet. Get those complex carbs, everyone!

Why does Health Habits hate this idea so much? He writes:

1 packet of Quaker Oats Maple & Brown Sugar instant oatmeal has:

• 157 calories
• 2 grams of fat
• 4 grams of protein
• 32 grams of carbohydrate ( incl 3 g fiber / 13 g added sugar)

Similar in macronutrient profile to:

• 4 Twizzlers, or
• a cup of Kellogg’s Scooby-Doo! Berry Bones breakfast cereal, or
• 2 fat Free Fudgesicle bars, or
• a York Peppermint Patty, or
• a Klondike, Slim-a-Bear Chocolate Sandwich, or
• a cup of Kellogg’s SpongeBob SquarePants breakfast cereal

And to be honest, who wouldn’t rather have 2 Fudgesicles for breakfast?

And, as Loren Cordain points out on his FAQ:

On a calorie-by-calorie basis, whole grains are lousy sources of fiber, minerals, and B vitamins when compared to the lean meats, seafood, and fresh fruit and veggies that dominate The Paleo Diet. For example, a 1,000-calorie serving of fresh fruits and vegetables has between two and seven times as much fiber as does a comparable serving of whole grains. In fruits and veggies most of the fiber is heart-healthy, soluble fiber that lowers cholesterol levels -- the same cannot be said for the insoluble fiber that is predominant in most whole grains. A 1,000-calorie serving of whole grain cereal contains 15 times less calcium, three times less magnesium, 12 times less potassium, six times less iron, and two times less copper than a comparable serving of fresh vegetables. Moreover, whole grains contain a substance called phytate that almost entirely prevents the absorption of any calcium, iron, or zinc that is found in whole grains, whereas the type of iron, zinc, and copper found in lean meats and seafood is in a form that is highly absorbed.

Compared to fruits and veggies, cereal grains are B-vitamin lightweights. An average 1,000 calorie serving of mixed vegetables contain 19 times more folate, five times more vitamin B6, six times more vitamin B2 and two times more vitamin B1 than a comparable serving of eight mixed whole grains. On a calorie-by-calorie basis, the niacin content of lean meat and seafood is four times greater than that found in whole grains. Click here to read more about cereal grains.

Grains are certainly not superfoods.